1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multimedia content retrieving device and a multimedia content retrieving method for retrieving content stored in a terminal.
2. Discussion of the Background
There is a technique for connecting a terminal such as a personal computer (hereinafter called a PC), a portable telephone, a portable terminal such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), or an information terminal such as a TV with a program recorder, etc. to a server by a wired or wireless network, and transferring multimedia content data (hereinafter called content) such as video, music and still images to the terminal via the server. Thus, this technique allows the content such as a program, a photograph, music, etc. to be audio-visualized irrespective of location.
A home server is an example of a server that may be used to provide such a function, and includes a large capacity storage device such as a HDD, or a DVD, etc. and accumulates and manages the content.
The home server controls and manages a terminal device connected to a network constituting a home network.
For example, content such as video or music stored within the home server can be transferred to a PC located in a study, a kitchen and a bedroom using wired or wireless communication by arranging the home server in a sitting room, for example, with a wired or wireless LAN function.
Further, the home server has the role of, so to speak, a control tower for accumulating content and transmitting and receiving content to and from terminals located within the home.
Further, the home server has a function for retrieving and displaying predetermined desirable content among the content accumulated in a memory medium within the terminal connected to the network and a memory medium within the home server.
Meta information describing additional information related to the content is managed by the home server to manage the content accumulated in the memory media and the terminal.
Here, there is a possibility that the amount of meta information for managing the content within each terminal connected by the network may become very large.
As the functions of devices such as digital cameras and portable telephones with camera functions are improved, increased amounts of digital photographs can be stored daily on the home server or the PC terminal.
For example, each member of a family may have a portable telephone with a camera function, and all managing information (i.e., meta information) related to the resulting photo content is managed by the home server. In this case, all the meta information relating to that content is registered and managed within the home server. The home server must update pertinent meta information every time content is added, moved, deleted or copied within the terminal connected by the network or between the terminals. Therefore, there is a problem of an increase in the processing amount of the server.